Wednesday, February 05, 2020

THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 04.02.2020

the hindu articles

VisionIAS 07:14

FRONT PAGE

SC to frame issues for 9-judge Bench hearing religious rights

nCoV outbreak declared a State calamity in Kerala

Will not splurge to end slowdown: Sitharaman

NATIONAL

If tap water meets BIS norms, RO systems will be banned

Operation Vanilla brings island closer

India able to deter terror groups: Rajnath

Siachen troops given poor gear, says CAG

‘Govt. will catalyse infra investment’

OPINION

Camel in the tent

Towards cooperative federalism

Non-violence as an art of resistance

Daily Current Affairs, 04th February 2020

vision ias current affairs

VisionIAS 20:30

1) World Cancer Day observed globally on 4 February

•World Cancer Day is being observed globally on 4th February. The Day aims to create awareness about cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that cancer cases will rise by 81% in low and middle-income countries by 2040 because of a lack of investment in prevention and care.

•The theme of World Cancer Day: 2019-2021

•2020 marks the midway point of the 3-year with the theme ‘I Am and I Will’ campaign. ‘I Am and I Will’ is an empowering call-to-action urging for personal commitment and represents the power of individual action taken now to impact the future.

2) Mohammad Tawfiq Allawi becomes new Prime Minister of Iraq

•Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi was appointed as Iraq’s new Prime Minister by President Barhim Salih. He will replace Adil Abdul-Mahdi who resigned in November 2019 due to anti-government protests. Mohammed Allawi served twice as communications minister under Former PM Nouri al-Maliki. The 2019 Iraq Protests was also named as Tishreen revolution (October revolution) or Iraqi Intifada.

3) Pakistan declares national emergency to battle locust swarms

•Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has declared a national emergency in the country to battle locust swarms. The insects destroying crops on a large scale in Punjab province, country’s main region for agricultural production. The National Action Plan (NAP) requires a sum of ₹7.3 billion to overcome the crisis.

4) Maldives becomes 54th member of the Commonwealth

•Maldives has returned to Commonwealth after its exit in 2016 and hence, has become the 54th member of the global body. The inclusion of Maldives into Commonwealth become effective from one minute past midnight on 1 February just after the exit of United Kingdom from the European union. The Commonwealth secretary general Patricia Scotland announced the rejoining of Maldives in the Commonwealth after ensuring Maldives’ alignment with the values and principles of the Commonwealth and the consultations with the other Commonwealth nations for Maldives’ readmission. Maldives became a member of the Commonwealth for the first time in 1982.

Why it left the global organisation?

•Maldives left the Commonwealth in 2016. Maldives was threatened with suspension over its human rights record and lack of advancement in its democratic reform. Maldives quit the Commonwealth citing their treatment “unjust and unfair” under the presidency of former president Abdulla Yameen.

Readmission of Maldives in Commonwealth:

•Maldives has shown development in its democratic reforms with the evidences of functioning democratic processes. President Ibrahim “Ibu” Mohamed Solih promoted the democracy in the island nation after his surprising victory in the 2018 presidential elections. After ensuring the processes, he applied to the secretary general to rejoin the Commonwealth. After the application process, Maldives faced an assessment including two site visits and consultations to prove its alignment with the rules and regulations agreed by the Commonwealth heads of government in Kampala during their meet in 2007.

•According to the Commonwealth heads of government, a country can become its member only if the country has subscribed to the values and principles of the Commonwealth charter and committed to develop free and democratic societies along the promotion of peace and prosperity.

5) 11th DefExpo 2020 to be held in Lucknow

•The 11th edition of the biennial mega defence exhibition, DefExpo 2020, will begin on 5 February at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. The main theme of DefExpo India-2020 will be “India: the emerging defence manufacturing hub”.

•The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is taking the lead role in organising the DefExpo-2020 in Lucknow, in coordination with the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The aim of the event is to bring leading technologies in the defence sector under one roof and provide countless opportunities for the government, private manufacturers and start-ups.

6) Ajay Bisaria becomes India’s next Ambassador to Canada

•Ajay Bisaria has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Canada. He is presently served as High Commissioner of India to Pakistan. He will replace Vikas Swarup. Vikas Swarup is now secretary (West) at the Ministry of external affairs.

7) Shaktikanta Das named best central banker in Asia Pacific

•The Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das has been named the ‘Central Banker of the Year 2020’ for the Asia-Pacific region by financial intelligence magazine The Banker. He won the accolade for bringing in measures to tighten the rules around NBFCs and the award is presented to the bankers who have “best managed to stimulate growth and stabilise their economy,” according to The Banker.

8) Coastal Security Exercise ‘Matla Abhiyaan’ conducted by Indian Navy

•The Indian Navy conducts a coastal security exercise named ‘Malta Abhiyan’ in Kolkata, West Bengal. The exercise, named after Malta River, aims to interact with coastal communities to spread awareness on coastal security and understand the navigational complexities in the Sunderban deltaic waters. Under the exercise, two naval boats were flagged off to move along the river Malta in the Sundarbans region up to Hemnagar.

9) Waheeda Rehman to be honoured with Kishore Kumar Samman

•The Veteran actor Waheeda Rehman will be honoured the Madhya Pradesh government’s National Kishore Kumar Samman. The award, for the year 2018, will be given to Rehman. The award, which carries a Rs 2 lakh cash prize and citation. The function was held on 13 October, coinciding with the death anniversary of singing legend Kishore Kumar.

10) Vinod Shukla wins 1st Mathrubhumi Book of the Year award

•Noted Hindi poet-novelist and Sahitya Akademi honouree Vinod Kumar Shukla has won the inaugural Mathrubhumi Book of the Year award for his translated book “Blue Is Like Blue“.

•The stories in “Blue Is Like Blue”, translated into English by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and Sara Rai. This book is dealing with common people and their daily struggles. His book, published under HarperCollins India’s translations imprint Harper Perennial.

Daily Current Affairs, 03rd February 2020

vision ias current affairs

VisionIAS 20:01

1) Union Government sets up task force to restrict Novel Coronavirus

•The Union Government has set up a task force which has a target to restrict the Novel Coronavirus in India. The task force consists of Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The task has a prime aim of stopping the Novel Coronavirus outspread in India.

What is Coronavirus?

•The coronavirus belongs to a family of viruses that can cause a range of illnesses in humans. These illnesses includes common cold and more life-threatening severe forms like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The corona virus has been named after its shape which takes the pattern of a crown with protrusions around it.

2) Bangladesh’s PM Sheikh Hasina inaugurates “Ekushey Book Fair”

•Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has inaugurated the Ekushey Book fair. The Ekushey Book fair has been organised at Bangla Academy premises in Dhaka. The book fair is annually celebrated to commemorate the martyrs of the language movement which helped in establishing Bangla as the official language of the then East Pakistan. The book fair aims to publicize the art, culture and literature of Bangladesh across the globe.

3) Madhya Pradesh wins award for implementation of PMMVY

•Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani presented the award to Madhya Pradesh Minister for Women and Child Development Imarti Devi and Principal Secretary Anupam Rajan for the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The state has bagged the first position for the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana. In Madhya Pradesh, more than 14,55,000 beneficiaries have subscribed to the Pradhan Mantri Matra Vandana Yojana.

•Among the districts, Indore was ranked at first place for better performance of the scheme.

4) Sri Lanka tops in Breast Feeding support Policies and Programs

•Sri Lanka has topped a new survey conducted by the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi). The survey was conducted on “Breast Feeding support Policies and Programs”. The island country has been placed on top of the chart among 97 countries globally. Sri Lanka has received the green color code after scoring 91 points out of 100. With the green color code, Sri Lanka has become the first country to achieve the “Green” nation status in supporting breastfeeding women. As per records of 2019, Sri Lanka has scored green code in 7 out of 10 indicators, blue code in 2 indicators and yellow code in one indicator.

5) Serbia’s Novak Djokovic Wins Australian Open 2020

•Novak Djokovic from Serbia inched closer to Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer from Switzerland on the list of male tennis players with most Grand Slam titles after capturing a record-extending 8th title at Australian Open.

•Novak Djokovic has become only the 3rd man to win at least 8 titles. Novak Djokovic beat Austrian Dominic Thiem in five sets to successfully defend his Australian Open men’s singles title in Melbourne, Australia.

•Novak has also become 1st tennis player in the Open Era of men’s singles tennis to win a Grand Slam in 3 different decades. Ken Rosewall from Australia won Grand Slam titles in 3 different decades between the 1950s and 1970s but not all of them came in the Open Era. Novak Djokovic is now only 2 behind Rafael Nadal (19) and 3 behind Roger Federer (20) on the elite list which is being dominated by the Big Three since the start of the new millennium.

The HINDU Notes – 04th February 2020

the hindu notes

VisionIAS 12:46

📰 Operation Vanilla brings island closer

Navy’s help to Madagascar is followed by a visit by its Defence Minister

•India’s flood relief mission to Madagascar will be followed up this week with the island’s Defence Minister Rakotonirina Leon Jean Richard visiting Lucknow and Delhi from Tuesday — the first such high-level trip since Delhi incorporated the island off the coast of Africa into the “Indian Ocean Region (IOR)”.

•Mr. Richard is expected to discuss implementing a memoradum of understanding on defence cooperation signed during President Ramnath Kovind’s visit to Antananarivo in March 2018. The Minister will travel first to Lucknow to attend the Defexpo, and later attend the India-Africa Defence Ministers’ conference in Delhi, and hold a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday.

Strategic capability

•Mr. Richard will discuss the devastation in Madagascar due to flooding after a cyclone and heavy rain in the island’s north-west left at least 31 dead and affected nearly 1,00,000 people.

•Last week, the Indian Navy conducted “Operation Vanilla”, with INS Airavat delivering relief material such as food, clothing, medicines and water. Officials said the humanitarian gesture by New Delhi also showcased India’s strategic capabilities in the furthermost islands of the IOR.

•“ INS Airavat delivers relief supplies to cyclone-hit Madagascar. SAGAR Policy at work — India as an early responder,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar tweeted about the operation on Sunday, referring to India’s policy of “Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)” for IOR islands.

•The SAGAR concept was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2015, during his visit to Mauritius and other Indian Ocean islands. At the time, Madagascar, Comoros and the French island of Reunion were a part of the East and South Africa Division at the External Affairs Ministry.

Reworked approach

•However, recently the Ministry decided to include the three islands as part of the IOR (Indian Ocean Region) desk along with Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Mauritius and the Seychelles. In a December 16 circular on the decision, it said the incorporation of the “Vanilla islands” as they are called, reflected “the growing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean Islands within the framework of Indo-Pacific”.

•Last October, Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan travelled to the Reunion islands and met the leaders of all the “Vanilla islands” as well.

•The inclusion of the region in the IOR signals the government’s increasing level of comfort with the “Indo-Pacific” concept that describes the entire neighbourhood from the coast of Africa to the U.S. west coast.

•In one of many changes effected last week to the Ministry’s organisational structure, Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla decided to club the entire Indian Ocean Region and the Southern and Indo-Pacific Divisions under one Additional Secretary (Indo-Pacific).

•According to officials, the specific outcomes from Mr. Richard’s visit are still being finalised, but that the effort would be to offer Madagascar strategic cooperation similar to what is currently shared with other IOR countries.

•The Indian Navy undertakes Joint EEZ patrols with Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius, which have all joined India’s coastal radar chain network.

📰 SC to frame issues for 9-judge Bench hearing religious rights

The HINDU Notes – 03rd February 2020

the hindu notes

VisionIAS 13:32

📰 Centre rejects advice on special grants for States

Finance panel report made public

•The Centre has rejected the 15th Finance Commission’s recommendation to give special grants worth Rs. 6,764 crore to States in 2020-21 to ensure that they do not receive less than the previous year’s allocation.

•This was one of the few recommendations that the Centre did not accept in the commission’s report made public on Sunday.

•The Commission had submitted its interim report for 2020-21 to the President on December 5, 2019.

•Major recommendations accepted by the Centre include the 41% share for States out of the divisible pool of tax collections, the suggested grants-in-aid and post-devolution revenue deficit grants of Rs. 74,340 crore for 14 States. It also accepted recommendations for grants to local bodies, disaster-related grants and sectoral grants.

•The Centre asked the Commission to reconsider the recommendation for special grants “as it introduces a new principle”. These grants were suggested to ensure that in 2020-21, “no State receives in absolute terms less than what it received in 2019-20 on account of tax devolution and revenue deficit grants.”